Four days later:
Qian Meigui arrived home from cla.s.ses when she decided to scroll through her Weibo. She laid on the bed, searching through hot topics when she stumbled upon the trend for the main male lead of the film A Dream of Roses. There were pictures of Song Sheng from his photoshoot with users commenting that he was a handsome, rising star.
She put down her phone, knowing that Song Sheng would get the attention. Why wouldn"t he? After a moment, Qian Meigui picked up her phone again, curiously peaking more. Even though their relations.h.i.+p was complicated, she wanted to support him.
She kept scrolling when she came across a video of an interview. It was Song Sheng answering questions with his female co-star Yu Qingge. Song Sheng appeared to be somewhat reserved and blunt as he responded to each question.
But at the last question, the interviewer had asked him a personal question. At first, Song Sheng denied the question, but slowly his expression softened, his eyes smiled, his grin widened, and he said that he had a woman he was interested in courting.
Quickly, Qian Meigui looked through the comments from underneath. Some netizens suspected he was talking about Yu Qingge, but others denied it because of their lack of chemistry throughout the interview. Then the mystery girl became a hashtag to find out who she is. Qian Meigui"s heart began to pound relentlessly.
She shut her phone off, holding it against her thundering chest. She took deep breaths to calm herself down. Could it be true? She questioned. She thought of him when they threw her a surprise party. He attempted to kiss her, but when she began to cry, he appeared to be pained. No. No. No. She denied any possibility.
But she was also surprised to see such a gentle expression coming from him in front of a camera. She decided to ignore it and prepare for the banquet.
When Song Ren saw the dress in Qian Meigui"s hand, she grinned widely, dragging her by the hand into her bedroom, claiming to know how to complete her look. They both got ready with Song Jinyi, just as always when attending a special event. However, they also had to keep their eyes sharp, and their minds opened.
This banquet is the grandest of the year because it was the Long"s who is hosting it. Long Group is one of the wealthiest families in China, and their wealth is ten times the amount of Sun Group, Song Corporation, and Song Entertainment combined. No doubt, the venue would be grand, abundant in food, and all exclusive people would attend.
"How are we getting there?" Song Jinyi asked Song Ren. "I"m driving," she responded. "I told the men to meet us there." Song Jinyi nodded, and they all continued to dress their best.
When they finished, Song Ren drove them to the most exclusive party of the year, and a long night awaited them.
As daughters of the elite, a woman must know how to dress, dance, and flirt. Despite, Qian Meigui living with the Song family for eleven years, she was still relatively inexperienced in all those categories. But Song Ren and Song Jinyi excelled, they were born for their statuses, and they never took it for granted.
Once they arrived, they entered the venue with their invitations. As soon as they walked in, all three of them were stumped.
The venue was even grander than the ones they"ve attended before. The main hall was as big as their mansion without any walls in between, just a vast s.p.a.ce. A grand spiral staircase stood in end of the hall, with the fountain in the middle. There were tables all over the room that were meant to stand nearby, not sit. There was a dance hall just before the fountain and spiral staircase. Song Jinyi"s jaw dropped; it appeared as if they were in a movie scene. It seemed that finding out anything in this banquet would seem impossible with the number of people attending. There wasn"t even a V.I.P section. It would have been an insult to have one with all the exclusive people who were present.
The theme of the banquet was a masked ball. Because everyone was practically an elite, the Long"s thought it would be more fun to hide everyone, so they can enjoy themselves to the fullest without anyone peering. The only people that did not wear masks were the Long"s. Therefore, it was easy to identify them.
The three girls decided to approach the Long"s and greet them respectfully. They first met the CEO of Long Group, along with his brothers, and family members. They greeted the eldest son, Long Huojin, last. When the three approached him, they stilled.
Qian Meigui heard Song Jinyi"s breath hitch, and both Song Ren and Qian Meigui gasped slightly at the sight of him. Long Huojin was perhaps the most handsome man they"ve ever seen. He had a head of jet-black hair and cerulean blue eyes, a mix between glaciers and sapphire. His face was gentle, and he looked relatively young. He appeared to be older than them, but not older than Song Sheng. He was tall, composed, and the tautness of his face was sharp. He looked like a prince, though, he was instead a normal gentleman.
Song Ren had to remind herself that she was engaged, Song Jinyi looked away flushed, and Qian Meigui composed herself, greeting him politely. Despite his handsome features, Long Huojin was courteous and amiable. He welcomed each of them respectfully, but their chats did not last. More people entered, greeting the Long"s and they moved on.
Song Ren guided them to the hall of games, where guests gambled and played poker. Song Ren found the boys. Song Ren wore a royal blue, long sleeve; lace front split dress. Song Jinyi wore an orchid short sleeve dress, while Qian Meigui wore an ombre crimson, off-shoulder, long v-neck gown that fades into a deep vibrant wine colour.
Su Feng appeared to have his breath taken away by the sight of Song Ren. He wore a matching deep blue suit to compliment his fiancée. Song Jun did not react, but Song Sheng was rooted. His lips parted, gaping. But he quickly composed himself and was thankful he wore a mask. He couldn"t look like one of them stunned him. He wore all black, a suit and collared s.h.i.+rt, and shoes. His mask only covered have his face, still revealing his sharp features and golden eyes.
To Shong Sheng, it was obvious Qian Meigui straightened her hair, different from her loose waves, but it made it look longer. Her off-shoulder gown had a deep v-neck, revealing a bit of cleavage. And to top it off, she wore a ruby red lipstick that made her look more grown than usual. Song Sheng had to compose himself and pretend that they were here to focus on the Su"s.
"We"re going to split into pairs," Song Ren said. And at that, she locked elbows with Su Feng, finding somewhere else to be. Soon after, Song Jinyi and Song Jun also locked elbows, seemingly about to execute a scheme, and the four of them left Song Sheng and Qian Meigui alone.
Qian Meigui tried to keep herself composed, holding her head up high, pretending that being alone with Song Sheng wouldn"t affect her. When she glanced at him, he was already looking at her, deeply, emotionally, and affectionately. She ignored it and began to walk ahead, but Song Sheng soon caught up to her.